Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Six Sages
by Ben10extreme
Summary: Its the usual thing. One Pokémon appears and claims to be human, and the other dreams to be an explorer. But somehow...things are different. Things are somehow even more unnerving than before, and its up to our newest team to figure out why. This is the story of Ben, Rio, and Umbre. Past Present and Future can't always be kept secret. Post events of all three Mystery Dungeon games.
1. Team Aura's Formation!

This** shall be a Pokemon:Mystery Dungeon fanfic for those who like that series. I've decided to put my own spin on things, and give it a try. One has encouraged me to go ahead with it, and so I shall.**

**Let us start!**

**Don't own Pokémon on ANY angle. That is all.**

* * *

There was a deep yet calm silence in the mysterious region known as Kalos, withto seemingly no negative energy present anywhere. The Pokémon here were most likely sleeping peacefully, because it is still early in the morning.

But not all of them are asleep.

A few distances inside an unknown forest, a lone Riolu was walkng on the forest paths, which keeps travelers from getting lost in its density. Its not very clear, but it seems to be a young male. He was allowed to explore only a few distances away from town, but he dared himself to go a few steps further. Can't be that bad, right?

"There has to be something to do that doesn't involve my brother finding out...but what?" He had only a few steps to follow in order to join the guild he's so eager about. The last thing he truly needs is a trustworthy partner. Not too many of those live around with all the thieves and bullies running around.

"Thats my last requirement...but...a partner? Who should I pick?" He stopped to look at the pond he has arrived at. Why...it was so clear and clean and fresh...it could have belonged to a Suicune. (Luckily it isn't, or VERY bad things will happen)Riolu began to relax. "Hmm...coming here...always eases my thoughts...maybe I can think a little bit clearly...who am I going t-"

At that moment, there was a huge splash in the pond, and it made him jump. "W-What?! What happened?!" After a few short moments, something bobbed to the surface and floated its way towards him. It looked like...a Pikachu? He didn't seem to be conscious. "...Yep. Weirdest morning ever...wait...I gotta help him! Electricity and water don't mix any better than water types and rock types!" Riolu attempted to pull the Pikachu out, but felt a jolt. "Ow! Well...at like least he's conscious..."

He turned to Riolu, a little pissed. "Why are you tugging on my tail?!" He then calmed down. "Wait...why do I have a tail?" The first tilted his head. "Maybe because Pikachu's usually have tails?" "Pika-what now?" In disbelief, he looked himself over again in the ponds reflection. He has the red cheeks storing electricity, the pointy ears, the black pupils, those brown stripes on his back, and his lightning bolt shaped tail. He moved it around a bit, getting a feel for it. "Huh...that...actually looks kinda good on me...WHAT AM I SAYING?! I'M A PIKACHU! And you! You're talking!"

Riolu covered his ears, whining a little. "Dude! Chill! I've always been able to talk. And haven't you always been a Pikachu?" "No I haven't! I was a human until just a few hours ago!" Riolu was calm now, yet uneasy. "Wait...did you say you were human? Humans live far away from us, and you say you are one of them?" "Look, you gotta believe me! I am a human!" Riolu closed his eyes, and sensed the emotions of the Pikachu in front of him, sensing out any chances of lying. "Okay. Your clean, I believe you. But...that still doesn't explain how or why you are like this."

Pikachu merely started walking around in circles, very confused. "I just don't get it, I don't remember this happening to me, or...anything...nothing from yesterday...or any day...crap." "Calm down. We can probably figure this out if we-" Riolu then jumps. "That's it! I definitely know how we can work this out for the both of us. But first, we gotta get back to my hideout. My personal hideout. Well...a few others use it...okay, its just my big brother and my three of us. But you should be able to get along with them." Pikachu scratched his head. "I'm staying with you?" "I can't exactly leave you here on your own, can I?" With not much memory...that really would be a bad idea. "I guess not." "Great! Now that has been settled, you can follow me back to my home."

"Isn't there dangerous Pokemon around this forest? What if we get ambushed.?" We'll be strong enough to deal with it, but even though there a couple of scary ones,they don't mind anyone passing through, as long as we don't bother them. But still, we can't be too careful. Now, let's go!"

With not a lot of choices, Pikachu follows Riolu into the forest away from the glow of the pond. What is with that pond anyway? Besides the fact that I landed in it. Riolu wasn't kidding, it was so early in the morning that it was less likely for them to be at attacked, but like he said, can't be too careful about it. No trouble was present yet though. Pikachu has to admit, this place looked pretty nice in the early morning. "Oh! I almost forgot. What about a name? You gotta at least know that, right?" Riolu asked suddenly.

Pikachu was a little troubled at first. "Name...name...uh...B-Ben. My name is Ben. I am pretty sure about that." "There. See? No matter how small it is, it's still a start. You just have to work from that point and see where it gets you." After that brief chat, Pikachu came to the conclusion that this forest maze isn't very long,because there was the exit right in front of them. "Yes! We're out! We can still get there without my brother or Nana finding out." But before they could walk out, something jumped right in front of them. Riolu felt the dark aura, and sighed in frustration. "Of course its not that easy..."

Two figures came out of the shadows, snickering. "Well well well...look who's up so early..." These two belonged to a Scraggy and a Croagunk, looking at them with mischief. "Whatcha doing out here Riolu?" Said Pokemon was still not very fazed. "Don't see how its any of your concern. I was just on my morning walk, and now i'm on my way would you mind getting out of the way?" He tried walking past them, only to be pushed back by the both of them. "Already? But you just got here! Stay awhile..." They eased towards Riolu, until Ben stood right in their way.

" Well look at that. A brave one!" Ben did not respond to them, but turned to Riolu. "You know these guys?" "They are the bullies that are always picking on some of the younger children...including me. They don't like that I'm the only one who fights back." Croagunk merely looked at the two with little interest. "Don't make this any worse on yourself Riolu. We know about your money stash, just hand it over." "No way! I've been helping out the people around town, and they've always paid me even though its unnecessary! I worked too hard just to let you two have it!" Scraggy eased his way towards them. "C'mon! Just a wittle bit?"

Ben's electric pouches lit up and shocked Scraggy, making him yelp and jump back. "He said no. Now...move along guys." The duo were now in battle position, staring the two down. "Hand...it...over..." On instinct, Ben was on all fours, charging up electricity. Riolu stood at the ready too. "Sorry, but its time for you fellas to be on your way."

Scraggy hopped up and used Jump Kick on Riolu, who tries to hold it back by using Force Palm, blowing the two in separate directions. While that was happening, Ben was jumping all over the place, dodging Croagunks continuous Poison Jabs. He never thought that being nimble now was so useful...But then one managed to hit him square in the chest, and he was thrown into a tree, pretty hard. "Not so tough now, are ya mouse?" Ben struggled to stand, they were tougher than he originally thought.

Croagunk readied another Poison Jab barrage, approaching Ben slowly. Ben was starting to feel woozy, the poison must have already seeped in. No...no...no...you just woke up from landing in a pond...don't pass out. Whatever you do, DON'T pass out! "What's the matter? Has the poison already worked on the first shot? That's why you don't mess with us." Ben...think...think hard. If you're a Pikachu now...then... "QUICK ATTACK!" He then got on fours and managed a good hit to Croagunk at high speed, knocking him into the ground, picking up dust. Ben landed on fours again, panting. Poison is weakening me...but...I can do this...I got this...

Back with Riolu, he was blocking every punch that Scraggy threw at him, acknowledging his brother's training. But Scraggy was one to resort to trickery to help himself win. "You really are a scrapper, aren't you?" Riolu then landed another Force Palm, and Scraggy had to land on his feet again. "Alright, you asked for it! Faint Attack..." Scraggy then ststeadily made his way towards Riolu, while he became completely unseeable. Riolu couldn't see him, until he reappeared and struck Riolu in the head. He was knocked for a loop, but still managed to stand. "Headbutt!" Scraggy then headbutted Riolu with powerful force, completely knocking him into the ground. He then stepped on his back, making him squirm. "Get off of me!" "No way bro! You're gonna stay down!"

Ben saw Riolu pinned down, and tried to help him. "Riolu!" But Croagunk appeared right in from of him. "Mud Bomb!" He threw a ball of mud at Ben, and it did enormous damage towards him, once again knocking him into the tree. Oh no! Ground type attack! An Electric Types one weakness! (Blacking out...) _No..no...poison...don't do this to me...gotta stand up...gotta stand up and end this before it gets further.._. Ben weakly stood on his two hind feet, and readied an attack, charging up. Electric attack...think of an electric attack..."DISCHARGE!" Decent sized lightning charges emitted off of his body, striking Croagunk with powerful jolts. One of the charges also struck Scraggy, shocking him too, and blowing him off of Riolu. He kept it up for an entire minute, then powered down to survey the damage. Scraggy and Croagunk stood for several seconds, and then fell onto the ground, with swirling eyes. They were KO'd now.

Ben then ran over to Riolu, helping him up. "Are you okay Riolu?" He dusted himself off, and looked at Ben."Yeah...I'm alright. I'm not that hurt. ...Okay maybe a little bit." Riolu had a little blood on his arm, not too serious. "Anyway, now that those jerks are down for the count, let's be off, my home shouldn't be too far from here." "That's cool. But...you may have to carry me there." "What? Why?" Ben swayed to the side, not feeling very stable. "You see, that Mud Bomb, really knocked me for a loop. That, and the poison pretty much sapped out all of my energy. Which is making it really...hard...not...to...pass...out..." And at that, Ben fell unconscious, again, with swirling eyes, on his back. Riolu then began to panic a bit. "Oh man! He's out! What should I do?" He then sensed that someone else was in the forest with them, and tried to see where it was. He was now very nervous. "Too weak to fight...what can I do?" _How about NOT fighting and taking a break? _"Who said that?"

(Its okay little buddy. You can calm down now. Everything is going to be fine.) Riolu suddenly felt calm, and he knows why. Something was coming right for them, but it was not evil at all. A figure appeared in the morning light. It was a majestic Milotic, smiling down upon Riolu. "Are you alright?" He smiled at her. He knew he was safe now. "Yeah...I'm fine. How did you find me?" "I can sense auras just as well we you and your brother. Now...why were you out here by yourself?" Smile was gone. Now was a face of worry, luckily with no anger present. Now he felt guilty, he didn't like it when he worries her. "You know what, it can wait. Let me just get you home." Riolu was now in a somewhat confusing situation, he needed to help Ben, but was unsure on how to break it to her. Just do it. "Wait Milotic. We can't leave yet. I have to help Ben!" "Help who?" Riolu steps aside so that she can see him, and she gasped. "My gosh! What happened here?!" "At first I found him at the pond, and then I helped him out of it, and then we started to get along, and then we were attacked by a couple bad guys that annoyed me, we fought back and fourth, and we won, but he got poisoned and passed out, and I hurt my arm. Ha...ha...mouthful."

"You hurt your arm? Let me see it." Knowing she will see it one way or another, he decided to just get it over with. He showed her his bloody paw, and she looked sad. "Aw...you have a boo boo...don't worry, I'll make it better. Also Ben, I also really need to help him, if the poison part is true." "Thanks! And...please don't call it that. (Blushes) I'm lucky Ben isn't awake to hear that." She slithered her way around the two, and began to glow. She was using Heal Pulse to rid Ben of the poison and heal Riolu's arm. When she was done, she opened her mouth wide, and eased towards Ben. "Wait! What are you doing?" "Calm down little buddy. I'm not eating him, I'm just going to carry him in my mouth. Because riding on my back while he's unconscious...you know the rest." She gently scooped Ben up in her mouth, and closed it,,making sure to keep him there, while his tail was sticking out lazily. With Riolu's paw all better, they made their way to Riolu's home, keeping notice if Ben is still asleep.

* * *

Even later in the Morning, it was officially daytme, and most Pokemon were awake now. And in Riolu's house, the three present residents were currently resting. Well one was still resting, the other two are just waiting for him.

Luckily he finally opened his eyes, and took a look around the small yet spacy is awake.

"Ugh...major headache...where...where am I?"

"You're in our house dude." Ben looked towards the right, and saw Riolu sitting on a organized pile of grass, looks sleepable. "You were out for some time, but its still morning. Milotic got rid of the poison for you, so you don't have to worry about that."

Turns out, Milotic was right next to him, curled up in one spot. "Yep. You are cured. So...Riolu tells me that you remember being a human. Is it true?" Ben found no absolute way to answer this, because no memories were clear in his mind. "Y-yes. I am definitely sure I wasn't a Pokemon before this. But..."

"Hang on buddy. Don't go straining yourself. Take it one step at a time. And that first step is your name, Ben. Progress. Always try to make progress before actually completing it." He nods silently. "So...Riolu. Is this your babysitter?"

Riolu blushed immensly. "Caretaker! I'm not a baby! It's just that my brother doesn't think I should be alone THAT often, so he has Milotic here to watch me whenever he's gone." There was a knock on the door, and Milotic smiled. "Speaking of brother..." She quickly slithered towards the front door, and opens it, revealing a tall Lucario standing right behind it.

"Milotic! Riolu! I've returned." Milotic wrapped around him, still leaving him room to move. "And we are ever so happy for that!" Then, unexpected for Ben, she went in to gently kiss him, which he calmly returns, gently holding her head with both their eyes closed. They looked completely oblivious to everything around them.

"EW! GUYS COME ON! WE HAVE A GUEST HERE!" Both of them stopped and blushed, Lucario rubbing his head. "Sorry."

He made his way towards Ben, and looked him over carefully. "You're surely not from around here. Name is...Ben? I heard them say your name is Ben. Well...welcome to our humble home. As you must know already, Riolu is my little brother. And Milotic here...(pets her head) is my soulmate."

Ben was very surprised to hear this, and looked at Riolu. "Its true. They've been together for who knows how long. Let you in on the story later." Agreeing on that, he turned back to Lucario, who was just as curious about him, and vice versa.

He then noticed that Lucario was wearing a purple scarf around his neck, and wonders what it means. "You're wondering about how I got this scarf? Well...that's a story that will have to wait for now." Milotic once again looked at the both of them. "So. Shouldn't you boys be going?"

Riolu widened his eyes and jumped out of his bed. "That's right! C'mon Ben! We have to go!" He grabbed Ben's paw and dragged him out of the house in a hurry. "Wait! Where are we going?!" The door then closed, and the couple were now alone.

Yet Lucario was still filled with worry. Is he really ready to let his sibling do this? Milotic rubs her head next to his, and he responds by doing the same. "Stop worrying. You knew this was coming. Let the little tyke have his adventure with his new friend. Besides...if he ever does need help...he'll have new friends to be there for him. Plus...we'll be around too."

Lucario smiles, and puts his forehead on hers, calmly. "You know how much I love you, right?" "As a matter of fact, yes I do. C'mon. Let's get you something to eat."

* * *

"Riolu! You realize that you still haven't told me where we are going?! I'm getting tired..." "Don't be like that! We're almost there!" They were still running at a fast pace, moving past the small town known as "Heart Town" and the many Pokemon from Kalos and others, but they were in too much of a hurry to say hi. One reason why its called Heart Town is because if a fire type Pokemon does one lap and leaves a blazing trail around town, it will look like a heart.

When they finally stopped at the very edge of town, Riolu pointed at the big hut that could be seen. "Here we are!" While he was completely unexhausted, Ben was wheezing, collapsed on the ground, trying to catch his breath. "Oh...ha...awesome...mind...ha...telling me...exactly...what "here"...ha...means?"

"Why this is a Guild of course! Where Pokemon come and become amazing explorers and rescuers! I've always wanted to see the inside but...I already knew that I needed a partner...but I didn't have the guts to go find one, and then you show up and-" Riolu stopped, and his morale was shot. "What was I thinking? I must be pretty selfish. I didn't even think about what you want...if you actually wanted to do this with me. I...I'm sorry."

Ben for some reason didn't like it when his morale was suddenly gone, so he tried to bring it back. "Riolu. Its okay, really. You were just excited, and forgot to properly prepare for things like this. It probably happens to a lot of beginning explorers right?" Riolu looked back up. "Wait...you mean...you'll actually do this with me? Even though I almost completely dragged you into it without your consent?"

"Its like you said eariler, its not like i'm going anywhere on my own with no memory at all of turning into a Pokemon. The best course of action is to stick with you, but because I want to. Not because I have to. We're friends now. Friends stick together."

Riolu's eyes shined in the sunlight. "Really? Alright! We are gonna do this then! (Looks at entrance, back to Ben) Uh...how about you go first?" Ben sighed, but humorously. "We'll walk in together."

So at the same time, the duo walked into the entrance, only to be paralyzed by an unknown force. "What?! Why can't we move?!"

_Tresspassers...what is your buisness here?_

Riolu wasn't calm enough to sense the unknown force by aura. "We're not trespassers! We're simply here to ask something!"

"Something" huh? That could be anything. Like for our deepest secrets, or our food? Or maybe you're just a couple of bandits who think they can just waltz in here and-

"WE WANT TO BE A EXPLORATION TEAM!"

After a couple of seconds, they weren't paralyzed anymore, and the lights then turned on. What froze them in place was a Haunter, who was looking quite embarrassed.

"Oh...could've said that a little faster. I'm jumpy when it comes to guard duty. Anyway, follow me." He then opened an unknown doorway, and it was a heck of a lot brighter in there than it was in the previous room. Riolu and Ben were quite amazed.

"Woah..." There were numerous Pokemon from several different regions, all having a role to play. This was also underground. "They make this place seem so small from the outside, and its crazy big on the inside!" Riolu says.

"Good eye sir! Good eye!" Something soared over them, and landed right in front of them, startling Riolu and surprising Ben. It was a Fletchling.

"Hello there! Welcome to our humble Guild, visitors! Is there something you request from us? here? Any assistance at all?" This small Pokemon was surprisingly friendly and cheery.

"Um...yes we would! We would like to form an exploration team, my friend and I!" Riolu quickly said. Fletchling was surprised by the request.

"I see! Another batch of youthful explorers! But...is this what you really want? Are you absolutely positively sure you want to be an exploration team now?" Riolu and Ben looked at each other, and the latter said, "We're sure."

Fletchling gave them a minute, then nodded. "Well! It seems like your minds are set, so I guess we can get you started then! For introductions, I am Fletchling, and I'm in charge of sending and receiving requests for explorers to take on. Learn more about those later. Off we go! To the Sky Deck!"

"You have a Sky Deck?!" Riolu exclaimed. "Indeed we do! We don't ususally show it off that much, but it does have a nice overview of town. Come come!"

Fletchling lead the two upstairs to the Sky Deck, and he was right. You could see almost everything from Heart Town from up there. "This is mostly for Flying types such as myself for receiving air-sent requests or packages. Now that you've seen this, to the lower decks!"

Fletchling led them to the further underground portion of the Guild, with more Pokemon coming in and out. He told them the basics, such as the mess hall and the cabins, and finally the GuildMasters room. He then turned towards them.

"Remember, our GuildMaster is a fair and kind individual. She does not tolerate conflict while within these walls, because she trusts us to resolve issues without her help. Now, be nice, and be polite."

With this in hand, he then begins to knock on the doors. "Excuse me GuildMaster, its Fletchling. I'm coming in." He then opens the door, and prompts the duo to follow him inside. The room was very spacy, with the multiple flowers, and the numerous Oran Berries neatly wrapped in small packages. And in the very center of the room, was a pink and white Pokemon, with two ribbons flowing from one of its ears, and on her neck. Her light blue eyes looked at the company, and she smiles wide.

"Why, hello there, friends! Fletchling, you've brought visitors! Fantastic! Let me guess: You two are aiming for an exploration team? I can tell just by looking into your eyes, they spell a awaitingadventurer. Well let's not keep you boys waiting! Braixen! If you may!"

There was a yellow and orange fox like Pokemon who had white paws, black feet, and a stick in its tail that could light at any given moment. "Hi guys! I see you met GuildMaster Sylveon! Anyway, lets get you both started!" Definitely female.

She then puts down a box with some sort of symbol on it, it looks like the thing on the entrance. "Go on. Open it."

Riolu steps back, allowing Ben to open the box. Inside, were official explorer badges, a map, couple of Oran Berries, and two scarves. Riolu was handed the purple scarf, while Ben was given the yellow one.

"There. That should be a good start for you beginners, won't you say?" Sylveon said happily. Riolu put his scarf on, and felt great. "Cool! Its like they empower you or something!"

"Thats because they do. Example, that purple scarf empowers both special attack, and special defense. And that yellow scarf is suitable for powering up electric type moves, which should be suitable for Ben. Use these items well." Braixen explained.

Sylveon then leaped off of her perch, and took a look at the two. "You also get an extra bonus: your first recruit!" Ben and Riolu were surprised by this. "Really? Who?" "You can have my niece on your team, she's just about around your age. Come on out Umbreon!"

Out of the shadows, there came a black with yellow rings on numerous parts of her body. This was Umbreon. She came out and greeted them. "Um...hi...nice to meet you..." Riolu nodded happily at her, but when her eyes landed on Ben, she paused. She just stared at him for an extended period of time, until he finally said something.

"Why is she looking at me like that?" She blushed when she realized what she was doing, and turned her head the other way. Sylveon chuckled a bit.

"She's just a little shy, that's all. I'm sure that can be dealt with when she goes off with the two of you. Break out of her shell a little. Now for the final part: What will your team name be?"

Riolu folded his arms. "Huh...never really thought about that. A team name? What you think Ben?" He was immediately blown by this. "You want me to pick our team name?" He gave it careful thought, trying to see what may fit. "Uh...Team Aura. How's that?"

Riolu took this in. "Team Aura, huh? ...hm...yeah...yeah. I like that. We can make do with that! Wait...what do you think Umbreon?" She looks up, and quietly nods. "Yes! We're all in agreement! How about some nicknames? Ben?"

I'm being called out multiple times...why? "Alright. Lets keep it simple. I'll just shorten the names to Rio, and Umbre. Does that sound good?" Both nod at the same time.

Rio then turned to Sylveon. "Thanks very much! We'll do our best!"

"I trust that you will. But try not to overwork yourselves, you just started afterall. Until then, Braixen, Fletchling, and myself will take care of any buisness you might have. So remember: Do your best...to train!"

"We will!" Rio turned to Ben and Umbre, who both managed to smile at his excitement. "Let's make this work!" They then all put their paws together, and raised them into the air. One journey has begun...

* * *

**That's it for chapter one! Like it, don't like it, review it, favorite it, follow it, just don't HATE it. Thats all I ask of you. Don't hate it. **

**Chapter two, i will get to when I can. Okay bye!**


	2. First Mission! Or Missions?

**I updated! Yay! I tried working things out, so I'll just see if it works. I made my own intro for the first true chapter of this story. I won't do it for every chapter, just for the beginning of the parts I make. If you don't like them...I don't blame ya. Just trying'. Now...I'll just begin now.**

* * *

**_There is nothing but stars and lights..._**

**_Ben walks on a lighted path, with his scarf around his neck. He looks brave._**

**_Rio appears beside him, having his satchel around his shoulder, smiling at Ben. He looks strong._**

**_Umbre comes in on the otber side of Ben, nothing but a calm look and a scarf around her neck. She has a gentle smile, and looks prepared. _**

**_Cutting to Sylveon's Guild, most of the members were present and happy. Most notable were Sylveon herself, Braixen, and Fledgling waving at the townspeople._**

**_Ben stared into a pool, wondering if being a Pokemon has some sort of purpose. Rio came to his side, and put a supportive paw on his shoulder, making them both smile. Umbre was looking at him, but blushed and looked away when he noticed._**

**_Another area shows Lucario and Milotic embracing each other lovingly, looking to the stars, wondering what the future holds..._**

**_Team Aura stands at a cliff, looking strong and spirited, along with all of their friends. A mysterious Pokemon flew through the air, holding a quiet yet important purpose..._**

**Okay now we start it! Good? Ok!**

* * *

_The next morning..._

Ben, Rio and Umbre were asleep in their room, dreaming of how their first day will turn out to be. Just then, Umbre woke up, and went to try the same for the others. "Guys! Guys! Get up! Quickly!"

Rio and Ben woke up in a hurry, startled and still a bit sleepy. "What? Umbre? What's going on, why are you waking us up so early?" Ben was still slightly asleep, and this made Umbre very nervous.

"This is why we have Haunter here, because if you don't wake up on time, he'll do it for you. And you _really _don't want him to do that! Ben! Wake up!" Ben shakily woke up, still feeling woozy. "Huh? Wha?" Umbre sighed in relief, and she stood up fully. "Alright Haunter. You're not needed here right now. Go on."

At that moment, Haunter appeared next to Ben, instantly startling him. "Dang it Umbre. Do you have to ruin my fun with the new guys?" "Haunter. Leave. My team needs to get ready, and I can't have you scarring them on the first day. Now get." He sighed in defeat. "Yes ma'am..." He disappeared, and left the three there to fully woke up. Ben was definitely awake now.

"Hold on. He was going to SCARE me awake?!" "Yep. Less damaging to the ears, more damaging to your mental state. Now...let's get ready." Deciding to just let it go, the boys followed her out of the room, preparing for the day.

A few minutes after, they were on time for rollcall, and were organized to different groups. They made their way to the second floor, where numerous jobs can be taken and completed for a reward based on ranks. Since they just started, they'll have to stick to the E's and D's. Umbre took a look first, since she's been here longer.

"Let's see what requests we can take that suits our level...item retrieval...rescues...outlaws...(so many outlaws...) what do you guys think?" Ben and Rio observed for themselves, seeing which one to take. Ben saw one, and took one off of the board. "Here's one. (I went looking around for my shell, thinking I must have dropped it around here. Anyone willing to help me look?) -Oshawott. Looks like we gotta look for his shell. What do you guys think?"

Umbre nods in approval. "So we're going with item retrieval. Let"s stock up in Heart Town." She lead the way, with the boys following behind her. They run into Braixen at her private desk. "Hi guys! Just to let you know, I'm in charge of organizing your teams and handling recruits."

"We can have more recruits?" "Indeed you can, but you'll have to rank up a little before that. So...just continue taking requests and keep ranking up." Agreeing to that, the group left the hut, stepping out to Heart Town.

"Let's see. We've picked up plenty of healing items from Kecleon. Now we should be meeting up with our client..." Yep. There was the Oshawott over at the exit, pacing back and forth. "Ooh...are you?" Umbre steps forward. "Yes we are. We'll be back with your shell before you know it. Come on boys." Umbre knows when to take charge when she isn't nervous. This surprises both boys.

With no further ado, Ben leads the way to Silent Woods, with his teammates following behind him.

* * *

The team eventually made their way to Silent Woods, where the name suggests, it was surprisingly quiet. No noise other than the leaves, the wind, and the water, it feels like not a lot of Pokemon live here. There was also plenty of apples. Riolu gathered like ten of them, and they managed to fit in his bag almost perfectly. So when they stopped for a break, they would have a snack.

Ben kept a keen eye for anything that looked like a shiny shell, and that it truly belongs to an Oshawott. So far there hasn't been much luck with that. Rio was helping out too, jumping up to high places the others cannot reach, and helping them up when the coast was clear. Umbre was able to scout through the darkest parts of the forest, cause she has more of a feeling for it that the other two do.

Ben sighed tiredly, this wasn't getting them anywhere. "How are we supposed to find that shell? We are supposed to have found it by now, Oshawott said that he dropped it not very far from the forest entrance, yet we've found nothing." Riolu looked into the trees, and came back down. "Don't worry, it doesn't matter where it is, we'll find it soon."

Umbre was keeping track of what they've gathered so far. The item wasn't where it should be, then that means it was swept away by weather, or something took it. Both are possible, because there are some Pokemon here who really like shiny things, because they are sellable. And an Oshawott's shell is pretty small and easily blown away by neutral winds. "There has to be some sort of clue..."

She is trying to find a way to dull down their search. How do they narrow down a search for a lost item? Gotta think...it was near the the entrance, they had to make their way back there by retracing their steps. "Rio, try sensing this direct spot, see if you can see the path it leaved behind. You will be able to see it better than we can, use the advantage." Rio shrugged. "I guess. Warn you though, I don't have much experience over this." He brought himself close to the ground, and felt the ground beneath him for the feeling of the object they seek. He tried, but he didn't get a clear image of what they were looking for. "Ugh! Nothing. Don't suppose you guys have any other ideas?"

Ben stopped listening right in the middle. He had been using his ears to pick up something he is hearing. It sounds like...struggling. Rio did manage to sense his confusion, and turned to him. "Ben, what's up? You got something?" Ben now figured that having Pikachu ears is very helpful in hearing. And he was definitely hearing something. "Someone's...calling for help...someone's in trouble! This way!" Ben was off on all fours, with the other two following close behind him. "Ben! Where are we going?!" "Just trust me!"

Ben, Rio, and Umbre made various jumps towards the area Ben seeks, bounding over struck down trees and water banks. They managed to come across a couple of trees either cracked or completely fell over. One tree was lying on its side, and the branches seem to have trapped a Pokemon within them. Looks like an...Arbok.

"Help! Somebody help me out of this! Can't break free!" Ben heard the plea and dashed towards her direction. Rio and Umbre stayed close so they can help.

"How do we break her out of this? We could lift them, or we can cut them with enough precision to not harm her." Ben thought this through. Precision..._What other attack can I use? Need precision. Almost like... _"Let me try something else...Iron Tail can slice when done carefully. Alright." Ben jumps up and aims for the verycenter of those trees. "Let's try Iron Tail!" With swiftness, he sliced up most of the trees on top of the Arbok in half, until she was easily able to slither out. Riolu managed to move all of the cut trees out of the way, and dusted off his paws. "That takes care of that."

Ben landed on his feet, and folded his arms. "Well now that that's done, we can get back to our original mission. Is Arbok oka- WOAH!" When he wasn't looking, she quickly coiled around him, and planted a smooch on his forhead, making him blush intensely. For some reason this didn't sit well with Umbre...but she stayed silent.

"Thank you so much you three! I never would have escaped that atrocity of wood without you!" She looked at each of their scarves and badges, and nodded. "I see! You're explorers. You came for my S.O.S?" Rio rubbed his head. "Wait...we took an entirely different request...only to fulfill another one...how about that." "Oh, you were already on a different request? I hope I didn't waste the valuable time you need!" Umbre shook her head. "Not at all, we're just around to help whenever we can. Now if we can only look for that lost shell-"

"Hold on. Did it look like it belonged to an Oshawott?" "Yes." Arbok looked behind her on the given path. "Oh dear. I may have seen it." Rio jumped next to her, interested. "You saw it?! Where?!" "It was in the hands of some ruffian who thought it was funny to knock down a bunch of trees to pin a defenseless Arbok. I saw him with the shell in his paws. Hmm...yes, he definitely went that way."

Ben went to take the lead, and everyone including Arbok followed the path behind him. They cannot lose that trail, it is the only way to find the shell they are looking for. Rio was capable of keeping the trail of the subject in question. Umbre took her time to scan for anything else that may pop up in front of them.

Ben heard someone smashing something that sounded like boulders, and chose to hide in the tall grass, the others following his lead. He peaked from the grass and saw the enemy they seek.

It was a Machamp, punching boulders as a pasttime. He had the Oshawott shell on top of another rock, being stationary and seemingly unnoticed by him. He also didn't look very friendly. Rio jumped a little. "Alright guys I got this!" He stuck to the shadows, and slowly made his way towards the shell in silence. He hopped rock after rock without making a sound. Thank his brothers training methods. Ben, Umbre and Arbok watched in silent worry for him. Riolu was right next to the shell, and reaches over to grab it.

"Alrighty then, this was easier than I thoug-YIPE!" He was grabbed by the paw by one of Machamps four arms, and looked into his face. _Just my luck...I jinxed it! _"Um...heeeey guy..." Machamp was not amused. "Were you trying to snatch my things, _little guy?" _Rio was no longer nervous. "No, I was reclaiming the shell that you took from the entrance in Silent Forest. It belongs to Oshawott!" "Oh...is THAT what he said? Not that I took it from him because he owes me?"

"Owed you? For what?" "Doesn't matter, he ratted me out, and he'll pay for it, right after I deal with you. Lets see...can I ask you something?" Rio felt that this can't end well. "Ooookay..." "Dynamic." "...But...that's...not...a question-" Rio was punched almost full force in the stomach, and crashed into the boulder next to them, and landed facefirst. He weakly propped himself up. "Ohhhhh...Dynamic Punch...NOW I get it..."

Ben and Umbre, followed by Arbok, immediately dashed for Rio, while Machamp was slightly in shock. "There's MORE of you?" The made it to the downed Rio, and Ben grabbed his head. "Rio! Buddy! Are you alright? Say something!" Rio's eyes where swirling, and he had a funny smile. "Wow...I can totally...see like three of...three...of you...does that mean that...I have to share more of my food?" Umbre sighed. "Well...he's confused. That Dynamic Punch does that instantly. Judging by Machamp...he's just a D rank criminal. I took the time to read the outlaw board before we went to sleep. I saw his name." She turns around to stare him down. "And it looks like only the two of us will have to fight him. Be ready."

Ben stood by her, ready. "I got it Umbre. We can do this together. Arbok, you yry to bring Rio back to his senses. We'll take care of Machamp." They stood at the ready, with Arbok staying with Rio. Machamp looked at them lamely. "You're gonna take me down? By the looks of it, all three of you are rooks. How exactly do you expect to beat me?" Ben deadpanned. "Didn't Umbre _just _ say that you were a D rank criminal? I think that's within our level." Machamp twitched. "Just for that, your next. I'm gonna rename my Brick Break to _Bone _Break when I'm done with you."

_Like heck you will! _Umbre thought. Her eyes glowed whits, and Machamp felt slightly stiff. _Mean Look..._"Alright, how about this? Cross Chop!" Machamp made karate chops towards the two of them, but they managed to dodge them with ease. They jumped sideways, and Machamp faced them in frustration. "Poison Jab!" He them swiftly launched quick punches at the duo, but again, they were able to avoid them easily.

Ben and Umbre landed on their feet. "No way I am going to fall for that again. Try something else." Machamp was now really mad. "Alrighty then! Rock Smash!" He aimed powerful punches at Ben and Umbre, but they dodged again, letting him smash the boulder right behind them. He didn't give up though, so he kept striking harder and faster, yet he has made no progress at hitting them. He was smashing all of the rocks in the area, eventually stopping to breathe.

Meanwhile Arbok was shaking Rio a lot, trying to snap him out of it. "Come on little guy! Wake up! Your friends need you!" No progress. Leaving her with no other choice, she slithered back a bit, and raised her tail. "Sorry about this. Wake Up Slap!" She smacked him once hard, and he immediately woke up, yelping a bit. "_**OW!**_Why?! What was that for?!" "Your friends need you. You should probably go help them." Rio rubbed his now slightly puffy cheek. "You didn't need to hit me so hard..."

Ben and Umbre stood where they are, while staring down Machamp. "Okay. I have to admiy...you rooks are pretty good at this. But...why can't this be fair?" Umbre huffed. "Two reasons. You may have a lot of strength, but we are both quicker than you, and you need the speed if you hope to use any power. The other reason...will you surrender the Oshawotts shell?" "No!" "Well now you know why it isn't fair. Seriously. Keep up." Machamp only got madder. Not that Umbre cares. "I also used Mean Look on you without you realizing it. So now you are not going anywhere until we come to an agreement. By that, I mean arresting you." "Thats not fair at all!" Ben was now charging up. "Thunderbolt!" He blasted Machamp with a burst of lighting, and he got shocked, and paralyzed. "Now THAT'S unfair!"

Machamp has now had enough. "SUPERPOWER!" Ben widened his eyes. "Ah crap..." Machamp charged at the duo with powerful force, and slammed into Ben head on. He was hit so hard he flew _threw _trees, and was now really hurt, scratches all over him, and it was hard for him to stand up now. Machamp folded two of his four arms. "NOW who's the tough one? You think i'm finished? I'll smash the three kf you like-"

"HI JUMP KICK!" "Say wha-" BAM! Rio has jumped into the air and landed a powerful kick to Machamps chest, and he was sent spiraling into a boulder, cracking it into many small rocks. He got up weakly, and snarled. "Why you little-WAH!" Umbre stood right in front of him, just wagging her tail calmly. But Rio knew better. Her patience was gone. And she was mad. "Did you know that fighting types are extremely vulnerable to Pyschic types?" "What? Of course I do!" "Good to hear. Now...are you sleepy?" Machamp tried to approach this carefully. "Um...no...why would I be-" BOOM! She fired a Shadow Ball at close ranged, blasting him through the boulder, and finally KO'ing him. She huffed, but remembered. "BEN!"

She ran quickly to his side, and held him up with her body, letting him hold her. She suddenly felt warm..."Are you alright?" He looked at her worried face, smiling weakly. "Yeah...I was gonna continue on anyway. You know...after removing splinters from my tail...anyway, I'm okay." Rio ran over to them, and took an Oran Berry out of their bag. "Here. Eat up bud." Ben gladly ate the berry, and felt energized. "Wow. Those work fast. Well we took down an outlaw, now we just have to get the schallop to Oshawott." "I got it right here." Rio held it in his paw, and put it in the bag. "But how do we get Machamp back to Heart Town?" Arbok had her tail wrapped around Machamps waist, smiling. "Let me take care of that."

* * *

A Chandlelure was seen floating in front of the still injured Machamp, with two Lanturn floating by his sides. "Well you've managed to bring this outlaw to justice. We thank you for your support. Off with you, criminal." They were leading him off, while he muttered: "Aw..."

Ben, Rio, and Umbre, along with Arbok, were seen inside the Guild chambers, standing right in front of Braixen and Fledgling, all in which are smiling. "You are amazing! You've managed to rescue Arbok, take down a criminal, AND retrieve the lost item in question! You three have incredible potential!"

"It was no trouble at all! It was totally easy!" Rio said boastfully. Ben snickered silently. Umbre just kept her posture.

They left, leaving the team, and Arbok there. She slithers around the three of them, and smiled. "I can't thank you enough for saving me. I would have been stuck under all of that wood for who knows how long."

Umbre waved her paw. "Think nothing of it. Its just what we have begun to do." "Anyway, I'll be off then. You'll see me in Heart Town from now on, say hello once in a while." Ben nods. "Definitely." "Okay, I better get home, before you three start to look tasty." Rio was the onlu one who cringed. "Ha! I'm joking! _Maybe..." _

She left, and now the three stood alone. Rio looked at the other two. "Did anyone else get a chill when she said that?" Silence. "Really? Just me?" "Yes. Just you." Umbre said blankly, and Rio pouted like a child. (Because he kinda is one...)

Ben turned to Umbre. "Hey Umbre. I've noticed something quite interesting about you." She froze up, and responded witbout looking at him. "And...w-what would that be?" "You seemed shy when we first met you, but then there were times when you completely took charge. I didn't expect a change that quick." Relaxed. "Oh. Well...I was just put with the two of you, I was nervous. But that is over."

Rio stood between the two of them, laughing. "If you'rendone with the private moment, Braixen just called us to dinner. Lets eat!" All of them stood an agreement, but Ben pulled back. "I'll catch up, there's something I gotta do first." Shrugging it off, the two left him to his business...

* * *

Oshawott stood in his room, pacing. He was for some reason filled with guilt from what he did. This amplified when someone entered the room. "Oshawott?"

He jolted a bit before tripping on something and landing on his face. He then got up to his visitor. "Y-You?" Ben stood at the doorway, curious.

"Why did you send a request when you're in this guild?" Oshawott paused, feeling ever more sad about the mess he made. "I...I was scared. I wanted to be a part of this guild so much. But...I don't have the quality to keep myself afloat. And being a Water type, thats really saying something."

Ben realized what this meant. "You a recent recruit too?" Oshawott looked at him, and that was all he needed. "You don't have to pay _us _just to help. We'll know that you'll need it." He then handed something to Oshawott, and he gasped. "My shell!" Ben walked out of the room, smiling.

"Next time you need help...don't be embarrassed. Just ask for it, no one is going to think less of you for asking for help. And if its still a bit of a hassle...then find yourself a team to work with. Other than that...you can come to us anytime." Finished here, Ben walks out, leaving Oshawott to ponder. Is that what he needs? He needs a team of his own? But...there was some other message Ben has sent him, without even showing it at then slightest.

_He wants us to be friends...even after I tricked him...hmm...that could work... _Oshawott then smirked, and placed his shell on his chest. "Yeah! Starting tomorrow, I'll assemble my own team, then I'll learn to be brave, like Ben! And nothing is going to stop me!"

_"growl..."_

He sweatdropped, and took an exhausted look on his face while holding his stomach. "Except for that...i'm starving..." With that, he too made his way to the dining hall with everyone else.

* * *

_One Pokemon flew through an unknown forest, trying to look for something. It was looking through bushes and trees, even pulling on a few flowers, but whatever it was it wasn't finding it._

_"Where could he have gone? He could have appeared somewhere here...I gotta keep looking..." The figure flew into the shadows, disappearing from sight._

* * *

**_There it is. My first actual chapter that starts the trio's adventures together. Where might it lead then now? Maybe somewhere dangerous. May be familiar...but things have changed. Lets see how._**

**_By the way, this starts Part One: Trainees. Each part will be lenghty, PROBABLY ten chapters a part. Maybe more, maybe less, I will just have to see._**

**_Remember to review. I'm able to take constructive critism. Its quite alright._**

**_Okay bye!_**


	3. Oshawott Gathers A Team

**Another chapter! Its been quite a while me being busy with school and all of that. Not really much to say, really. **

**Let's start.**

* * *

The water type Pokémon known as Oshawott woke up one day from a night of feasting with his friends. He stretched his little arms, and yawned tiredly. He rubbed his eyes a bit so he could see.

"Morning...huh...well...better get to movin' then. Gotta lot of work to do." He remembered the promise he made yesterday to assemble a team. But he needs to check in with someone first. Someone who is really good with making friends...

"Hey, Meowstic!" The male was currently asleep, degrading any chance of talking to him. He was a pretty quiet guy anyway. He is truly a good guy, he's just not social like everyone else. He is a leader of his own team anyway. Let's try someone else...

"Hiya Goodra!" The next Pokemon he tried was the friendly slime dragon, awake in the upper rooms. She noticed that the little guy behind her, and smiled widely. She then picked him up and hugged him to her gooey chest.

"Hey there little buddy! Wonderful morning, isn't it?" Oshawott laughed at her affection, not minding that he was covered in goo head to toe. "Yeah, because it just started, of course. Which means lots of possibilities. Anyway, I need your help." Goodra loosened her grip on Oshawott a little bit so she could see his face. "Sure thing. What do you need?"

Oshawott wiped some slime off his eyes so that he could see. "I want to assemble my own team." Goodra was seemingly thrown back by this request. "My gosh. You think you're ready for that responsibility?" "I guess so. I mean...remember the most recent rookies?" "Team Aura? Of course."

They both turned to said team, who seemed to be discussing what to do with their day. Rio was being very enthusiastic about it. So much that he jumped around a little and knocked himself into Umbre. She got mad and was about to launch Shadow Ball in annoyance. But Ben got in between them and calmed things down before it got serious. They all eventually headed outside for another mission.

"Ben has only been here for a few days, and he already looks and acts like a very good leader. Why can't I give it a try? Its time that I have my own team to lead, to build my confidence. Can you help me do that Goodra?" She took a minute to think this through, and hugged her friend tighter again. "Sure thing! Might wanna get cleaned up first though. I kinda...you know...huh...now that I think of it, cleaning my room feels useless. Anyway, you should probably get cleaned up."

Oshawott was let down, and took a look at himself. "Eee...guess I should take a morning shower..."

**In Heart Town...**

The two then walked outside to find suitable teammates for Oshawotts team. It shouldn't be so hard, but still, they have to be patient about it. "Who here is willing to listen to a little Oshawott? Wonder wonder..."

Goodra looked to the right, and blushed intensely. "Quick! Let's go this way!" "What?! Why?!" Being dragged away by a gooey paw, he was placed behind a couple of barrels. "What the heck?" "Shhhh! He'll hear you!" "Who?" She nervously pointed to where she was looking at. It was a Charizard, merely buying some supplies from Kecleon.

"Hey, who's that Charizard? Why are you so nervous?" Goodra kept her sparkling eyes on Charizard. "He is another Pokemon who lives around town. He is considered very powerful, the strongest in Heart Town. Well...next to Rio's older brother." Oshawott honestly didn't know that Rio has a brother, or that he was the most powerful in town, 1st to Charizard.

"What makes them both that strong?" "Do you know what Mega Evolution is?" He's heard of that, a powerful but temporary evolution that only certain Pokemon can use. "Yeah, what about it?" "Those two are the only ones we know of who can use Mega Evolution without a Mega Stone." "What?! How is that possible?" "I don't know, I just remember seeing them both. They are rivals." Oshawott still didn't get one thing.

"Why were you so nervous? Do you have a crush on Charizard?" "I-uh-whaaaaat? No! Of course not! What made you...think of that idea...?" Her glowing red face was all the answer he needed. Charizard has just left anyway. They came from behind the barrels, still looking around. "Let's keep going."

Oshawott and Goodra looked all over town for potential teammates for him. But so far there were not a lot of choices, and some didn't even accept it. Some even told him to get lost and keep moving. Unfortunately Heart Town isn't all friendship and trust, its always something. Goodra was cool with it, until it hurts one of her friends. There was such activity around here that it would come to that.

Oshawott was exhausted now. They've been looking for close to an hour, and plenty were too busy to even bother with them. "Ugh...is there anyone here willing to be on a team with me?" Goodra was sighing to herself. This was getting very tiresome for the both of them. No one his willing to help her friend out. Maybe they should-

"Wait wait wait! What was that?" Goodra's head was back into the air, looking around for something. "I hear something. Sounds like somebody whining...like...they're in pain. We better check it out for a sec." Goodra tries to hear the source of the whining, as she leads the way into somewhere a little more isolated than the usual spots in Heart Town. That was definitely a whining voice.

"N...No..." Oshawott heard it a little more clearly, and they both picked up the pace. It sounded like someone was in danger right this moment. "No...no...stay away..." He headed towards the voice even faster. "Someone is definitely in danger!" Oshawott and Goodra managed to follow a trail of flames, and finally saw what the commotion was about.

It was an innocent Vulpix, backed up against a tree, its hind leg looks like it was broken. Her tails were sort of cushioning her body, and her eyes looked terrified. She was running away from a Doublade, who was looking at her menacingly. Oshawott still had his eyes on Vulpix. _She's pretty...NO! Don't act like that now! You have to help her! But tthen...why am I shaking? This isn't the time to be scared! _

He finally decided to come out of hiding, and took his scallop off his chest. "HEY!" The two took notice, and they looked at Oshawott and Goodra. "Hm...someone wants to interfere, I see..." Doublade said. Vulpix was in temporary shock._They came to help me? _Oshawott stared down Doublade while lighting his schallop with Razor Shell. "Leave her alone. Can't you see she's hurt?" "Why of course. I did it to her after all. It was the only way I could slow her down. However that did little. Maybe I'll just cut it off instead..." Oshawott flinched at this suggestion, not fully believing it.

"You won't do that to her!" He charges at him to jab him with Razor Shell, but they blocked with one blade, while the other blade simply uses Tackle to hit him in the side, knocking him down. He steadily got back up, shocked. "How?!" Goodra stood by his side, helping him up. "Doublade are composed of two sword Pokemon, like a dual Honedge. They have a pyschic link with each other, which coordinates its attack." Oshawott took all of this in, and charged at Doublade again with Razor Shell. His water blade clashes with Doublade using Sacred Sword, both halves doing it. With both of them assisting the other, Oshawott was once again thrown into the air.

Once again, Oshawott was just barely getting up. Goodra was over him, worried. "Oshawott, don't try blade to blade, its unstoppable in that type of combat." Doublade rejointed, and readied another attack. "Ready Flash Cannon!" Ball of light illuminated from their center and blasted towards the duo below them. Goodra sensed it and quickly uses Protect. The orb made contact as the blast creates smoke. Before they even recovered, Doublade started to vibrate. "Metal Sound."

At this, the blades crossed each other again, and emitted an earsplitting sound, rendering the three immobile. Goodra and Oshawott tried to block off the erratic sound, while they didn't notice Doublade approach. "Iron Head." The hilts of the swords then landed a powerful hit to Goodra's head, knocking her back and rendering her unconscious. Oshawott hurried to her side, but Doublade wasn't finished. "Gyro Ball." It glowed grey and headed towards them at high speed. Oshawott got in front of Goodra, and puffed his cheeks. "Water Gun!" He forces a blast of water out of his mouth, and it collides with Gyro Ball, managing to keep it at bay for a moment. He was losing energy fast. Unknowest to him, Vulpix staggered weakly next to him, and also takes a deep breath. "Flamethrower!" She blasts fire out of her mouth, and it fuses with Oshawotts Water Gun. It began to overpower the enemy, and once again exploded.

The two were exhausted, panting heavily. Oshawott looked at Vulpix, smiling. "Are you alright?" "Y-Yes...I'm alright...but why would you help me?" Oshawott helped her up, and looked her in the eyes. "Isn't that the right thing, helping you out?" Vulpix was silent for a minute, is he serious? Just when they begun to relax, Doublade appeared from the smoke, speeding towards them at high speed. "I'm not leaving without the target!" He was coming at them withanother Gyro Ball. The two small Pokemon were helpless to react, too weak. At that very moment, a powerful blast of flame appears out of nowhere, and hits Doublade head on. He crashed into the ground, suddenly very weak. "What was that?!"

Goodra finally awoke from unconsciousness, and saw the figure in the sky. She suddenly had hearts in her eyes. "Charizard..." Said Pokémon was flying in the air at a still motion. His blue eyes stared down on the Doublade, with his arms folded. "That's enough of that, you should just give up now." Doublade saw the new enemy, and panicked. "N-No...not you...I can't...no...you're not stopping me!" He swiftly launched a Flash Cannon, only for Charizard to effortlessly launch Fire Blast. It completely overtook the Flash Cannon, and did enormous damage to Doublade. He once again crashed into the ground. He weakly got back up, barely staying conscious.

"Gugh... this..isn"t over...Vulpix will be handed to us eventually...along with your little friend..." He suddenly vanished, and the others relaxed. Charizard flew down to the group, looking at them with some worry. "You guys alright?" "More than alright with you here..." Goodra said trance-like. Charizard was unknowing of her thoughts on it though. Oshawott kept his grasp on Vulpix, and looked at Charizard."Yeah, sure. But...how did you know where to find us?" Charizard merely shrugged and pointed to his back. "This li'l guy did." Oshawott deadpanned out of surprise. "Ben?!"

The Pikachu was grabbing onto his wings, smiling at Oshawott and the others. "I told him about you. But how I managed to do it, no one will really believe..."

_**(Flashback)**_

"Yes! Another successful mission! We are totally awesome!" Rio said with passion. Umbre rolled her eyes, while Ben simply smiled at the both of them.

"You don't have to be so excited Rio. We still have plenty of ways to go. We should save energy resting." Umbre said. Rio stuck his tongue at her, and she responded with Scary Face, making him shiver all over.

Ben found it best to check on Oshawott about yesterday. So he headed over to his room for a second. But when he actually got there, he was not present.

What he did find was a note. "What's this?" He picked it up, and read it. (Off to gather a team of my own, please wait for me!) "Guess he took my advice-" After that, his vision started to waver, and he staggered a little. "Gugh...what...what happened...my head hurts a lot...what's going on?" There was a flash of light in his eyes, and things were white.

_He was seeing things in various shades of blue, and he could see something in the was seen going around with Goodra, searching for teammates. It tthen switches to Oshawott fighting Doublade with his Razor Shell, still a little weak. It looked like he was defending a Vulpix._

Ben was snapped back to the real world, shaking his head. "What was that? What did I just see? It looked like Oshawott was in trouble...was it just a dream though? I can't take the chance though, I better go now!" He speeded out of the room, on all fours. It was after that he asked for the assistance of Charizard...

* * *

"Anyway, you wouldn't really believe me if I told you. We should probably be more worried about Vulpix's broken leg." Oshawott somehow completely forgot about that. "Right! Can you still walk a little bit?" She whined a little bit, but nodded. "Yes...yes I can..." Oshawott helped her stand, and lead her out of the forest.

**An hour later...**

"There you go sweetie! Your leg should be healed overnight." Braixen said with hospitality. Vulpix stood up slowly, and winced. "T-Thank you Braixen." Vulpix had bandages on her broken leg, it wasn't as bad as before.

Meanwhile Oshawott was standing next to Goodra, both smiling at each other. "Well that was a little rough, wasn"t it Goodra?" "Sure was!" At that moment, Fletchling flew was right in front of then, holding a letter. "Oshawott, a letter for you! Someone has taken your recruitment request." "Really?!"

Another Pokemon flew into the main room, stretching its wings. "Hello there guys! Noibat at your service!" This one also sounded female.

Oshawott was happy, someone actually accepted his recruitment! "H-Hello?" He turned around to Vulpix, her tails waving. "You...you saved my life Oshawott...you are a good friend." "Really? We're friends?" "Of course...why can't we after today? Also...I wanted to ask of you...will you accept me as another team member?" Another surprise. Two have volunteered to be on his team in a day. This wasn't such a bad day after all.

"Of course you can! Since we start our partnerships on my very first day of searching for a team. We should be called Team Genesis. Which should be for beginnings...I think..." Vulpix giggled at his naivety, holding a paw to her muzzle. She then began to walk up to him, and nuzzle her head into his neck. His eyes were completely white, and he was drooling a little bit. "Thank you..." Goodra giggled to herself. "Haha...someone has a crush. How adorable!"

Ben, Rio and Umbre stood at a distance, the first with his arms folded."Well...my work here is done." Umbre nodded, while Rio was confused. "Wait..what work?" Umbre rolled her eyes. "Like you'd like to know..." The two walked away, while Riolu was scratching his head. "Yeah...I'd like to know what he did..." She merely walked away with Ben, while he still stood there. "Seriously, what did he do?...guys?"

* * *

**Done! Again, not much to say. Except Review, Follow, Favorite, maybe. Bye!**


	4. A Tiny Bit Of Mischief

**Not very long chapter. Just a fun bit. Let's start.**

* * *

Another day of day light passes by in Heart Town. Yesterday, Oshawott gained the courage to try to rescue a Vulpix from a Doublade who wanted to capture her for unknown reasons. Obviously he wouldn't let that happen, and with help from Goodra, Charizard, and Ben, he managed to rescue her with not many problems. Now he, along with a recently joined Noibat, Team Genesis was formed. That aside, there are more issues to be dealt with for many teams here.

The morning call was made, attendance was taken, and some made their way to their respective jobs. As for the explorers, they made their way to find requests to take on. Team Aura made their way to Heart Town to stock up on supplies. Umbre says you can never be too careful.

Team Genesis was also making their way around town to stock supplies. Noibat was flying right above Oshawott and Vulpix, being sure to look ahead. "Do we need anything, leader?" She asked Oshawott.

He tried to see something they might need, there wasn't much they could buy anyway. Their team has just formed after all. They are going to have to earn some money in order for more supplies. "I guess not..."

Back with Team Aura, Ben and Rio decided to go on with the supplies while Umbre was scanning for requests. "Anything necessary we need, Ben?" Rio said. "Well we could get ourselves some Heal Seeds. From the memories of our first encounter with trouble...I don't want to go through that multiple times." "Haha! Got it!" Since heal seeds could heal anything, and they could also run into anything, it was best to just get those and be better prepared. Umbre is that kind of girl, and its rubbing off on the guys.

"Hi boys!" Someone called out to them, and they turned to the left. "Oh, it's Arbok! Hi Arbok!" Rio said. They ran over to her, she was in a booth. Arbok wrapped around them in a snake like hug. "Nice to see you both here! But where's Umbre? Is she busy?" "Yeah. She's snooping around for requests. She tries to stay organized. Wait...what are you doing?" Arbok separated herself from them, and came back to her booth. "Didn't I tell you that I'd be around town? This is what I meant. I got a job!"

Ben and Rio smiled. "Really? That's awesome, Arbok! What are you doing?" Arbok opened a cabinet, and shows off a case if jars, herbs, and seeds. "I've taken up giving helpful medicine!" "That sounds really cool!" "It does, doesn't it? And its a little bit ironic, not a lot tough. I mean, look at me." Ben just took on an innocent look of curiosity at what she meant. Its not that hard to figure out when you focus. Before either of them could speak more, something rustled behind their desks. "What was that?" "Oh that's just my partner Milotic. She's the actual healer at this booth." Rio tilted his head. "Which Milotic?"

The serpent herself eased her way out of the back, and waved at the boys. Rio sighed. _Of course..._

"Hey guys! I haven't seen you both in some time, but that's probably because you've become such hard workers." Rio deadpanned. "Milotic...did Lucario put you up to this? Did he ask you to get a job around here just to keep an eye on me?" She got a little nervous from that question. "Well...I...uh...he...ah...you see what happened was...huh...yes. He did." Rio sighed. "Don't be like that! He asked me so charmly! I couldn't bring myself to say no!" Ben just started to laugh, while Rio sighed again. His brother would only take advantage of his girlfriend for two reasons. One: If she allows him to. (Gross...) And Two: It was a plan they both agreed to for his own safety. Details just fall apart from there.

And the fact that his best friend is sitting there laughing at the awkwardness of it all, he decided to place their order so they could leave...very quickly. He just handed his pay, politely asked for heal seeds, and walked away with Ben, who by now has stopped laughing. "Bye sweetie!" Milotic cheered, waving her tail. This only made Rio drag Ben away faster. Arbok smirked at her. "You did that on purpose." "Yeah. I guess I did." They looked after the boys for a few minutes, and continued to smile. "We're gonna get along fine." Arbok said.

_**With Umbre...**_

Umbre was looking through requests back at Sylveon's Guild, trying to see a proper job for her fellow teammates. One thing that she didn't do often, was swishing her tail in curiosity. "Hm... What to do? What to pick? It isn't really like me to stumble along things like this...Aunt Sylveon was right, there's a first time for anything." Speaking of Sylveon..."Sweetie? Everything okay in there?" "I'm fine Aunt Sylveon. Just trying to make a decision." She turned her attention back to the board.

Her eyes set her attention on one request in particular. "This request is worth 10,000 Pokè? The guys are definitely gonna want to take this job." She was about to take it off the board.

"Excuse me...but that's _our _request. You'll have to look somewhere else." Umbre sensed that Pokèmon that she shall definitely be annoyed with. She turned around and saw the three. A Zorua was in the middle, looking smug. A Diggersby was right next to her, looking strong. Houndoom was on the other side of her, looking mean. It was funny how small Zorua was compared to the other two. "Whatcha thinking, missy?" Umbre tried not to growl.

"I was trying to get some money so I can better help my team. What are you doing? Are you..." "New around here? We certainly are not. We've been around for quite a while, none of you noticed until now. See, we're looking for good pay too. And this here request here has enough to last us quite a while." Umbre didn't move for a moment. "Ya got wax in those big ears? Move it." Umbre still didn't flinch...actually her left eye began to twitch.

"Yeah... No." Houndoom stepped up and breathed fire slowly. "You really want to defy our boss like that?" Umbre held back a chuckle. "Here is a big bad Houndoom, only to see that he's a lapdog for a little girl like her. Must be pretty embarrassing." "Grrrrr...you wanna run that by me again?!" Before he could actually do anything, somebody stormed right in front of him, and in front of Umbre. _Ben...?_

"Umbre. Are these guys bothering you?" As he asked that, Rio managed to catch up with them. "Hey guys...what's going on here?" Zorua snickered. "What's this? Your little team is here too?" Rio was about to snap at her. "Hey! We're not that litt-" Until he stopped to get a good look at her. He was looking at her, but all he saw was her figure, pink, roses and daisies, and her sparkling blue eyes. Her fluffy coat, also fluffy tail, and the fluff of fur around her neck...to him, she was fantastic. In terms of looks, of course. "Uh...yep. So anyway...we...are really not that little...in terms of...uh...something." Zorua held back a quiet giggle. _He's funny. _

Diggersby hops right in front of him, stale faced. "Ya have somethin' to prove mate? Have somethin' to say?" Riolu was slightly unnerved by his look, but regains his composure. "I guess. And its can we not break into a fight in here? Sylveon won't like it..."

Ben and Houndoom glared at each other, not blinking for any reason. "Well then, that makes you the leader, huh?" Ben did not speak. "Silent type? I know that can't be the real you. The leader has to be able to take charge, like our boss." Still quiet. "What? Why won't you say anything?" Ben was still silent. Houndoom was getting irritated. "What?! You're trying to act like you're cooler than me?! You think you're better than me? Well you aren't!" Ben finally said something. "There's no need to yell, you know. I'm right in front of you." Houndoom was dumbfounded. Ben kept his focus on him, yet he didn't hear a word he said! Unless he did that on purpose..."Stop playing mind games! I want a straight answer! Are you-huh?"

Zorua snuck off for a second, and came back with the request they were fighting over. Its already been stamped. "Don't worry, I fixed that little dispute. Quite nicely I might add." Umbre was deeply annoyed that she let her slip by, and she was being casual about it. "Let's go boys. We have work to do." With that, Houndoom and Diggerspy followed her out, leaving the other three there. "By the way...you can call us Team Mischief. It was pleasant to meet you three. Bye!" Zorua happily skipped out, annoying Umbre more.

"She does realize that this means war..." Umbre grumbled. Ben wasn't too fond of that, and Rio was too mesmerized by Zorua to notice any of it. Ben sighed. _We are in for a whole lot of trouble...and by our own guild members...guess we better just endure, and see what happens..._

* * *

**_The reason why I said it would be like all three mystery dungeon games, is that they'll have some features from them as well. For example: Next Chapter will be a "Special Episode" just like in Explorers of Sky. And I know just the Pokémon to start with..._**

**_Anyway, any sign that you still read this is fine by me. Until next time._**


	5. Lucario's Idea Of Beauty

**Hi there! Here is my first Special Episode, its about Lucario and Milotic. See how they started out, and how it made them wwho they are in one way or another. Remember I'm not perfect on these kinds of things.**

**Let's begin!**

* * *

It was a peaceful night in Heart Town. Most of the Pokémon were already very much asleep. Ben and Rio were tiredly making their way back to Rio's house, the latter yawning loudly.

"Ah man...what a day this is..its a good we've finished that one shift before our shift was done."

"Yeah...sure...that was a pretty tough situation we were in. That Team Mischief knows how to live up to their name. I think we've found our rival team." Ben said.

"Woah...for real? Why can't we try to be their friends?"

Ben sighed. "I'm not saying we can't, i'm saying it'll be hard to do so. Let's mot worry about it right now." They continued to walk for a few more moments. "Umbre decided to stay with her aunt Sylveon in the Guild master's room, so I guess its just us two tonight."

They eventually made it to the house, and Rio opened the door. "Guys? We're home!" As if it were on cue, Milotic pops her head out of her room and smiles. "Lucario! They're home!" She then slithered around them in a snake-like hug. "Hiya guys! Glad to see that you're back."

"It sure is, Milotic. They decided to let us sleep at our house for if we choose to. So we chose today. Besides...now I can further confirm my suspicions..." Rio said tiredly. "Big bro? I know you're here! Milotic said so!"

A few minutes after that, Lucario stepped out of Milotic's room as well. Yes. They share a room. It's sort of a commitment. He noticed that Rio was tired, yet a little upset. "Hello Rio. How are you doing?"

"Did you tell Milotic to get a job to make sure I stay out of serious trouble?" He rubbed his neck, then looked at Milotic albeit shyly. "You cracked under pressure?"

Milotic blushed. "I panicked, okay?"

Lucario put a paw to his head. "Alright, its true. I politely asked her to watch over you to make sure that you were alright with where you were. I was only thinking about your safety. Although now I see that is a sign of no trust..." Rio sighed a little.

"Wasn't it enough that Milotic watches me at home? I also have Ben here with me. Big bro, you gotta have more faith in me when it comes to this particular thing. Nothing bad is gonna happen to me."

Lucario sighed, and kneeled down to Rio's level. "You can't be entirely sure of that. But you are right, I have to get better at trusting you to venture without me. I also have to be comfortable with the fact that you really are old enough to do just that. But the least I can do is offer support that does not hinder your growth."

Rio sighed again. He knew that his brother was just looking out for him. He was so used to seeing Rio around the house most if the time, he just has to adjust. "It's alright. I'm just a bit jumpy about a lot of things, that's all." Milotic sensed that the negative atmosphere was gone, so she began to move about.

"So guys! Anything else? Do you have something else to add from your day?" No one said anything after a while, so she assumed that that was it. "OK then! Then we might as well get to-"

"How did you and Lucario become soulmates?" Everyone stiffed up from the question, from shock, not nervousness. The one who asked that question was Ben, who's Pikachu ears were slightly tilted in a child-like innocent manner. "You guys never really told the story to me. I'm very curious about it."

The other three Pokémon looked at one another, then all eyes were back on Ben, who's posture hasn't changed. Milotic was still blushing a little bit, and Lucario was as well. But they both nodded.

"Alright. I guess we can share that experience with you, Ben. Rio and Milotic really seem to trust you." With that, Lucario sat down with his legs crossed, waiting patiently for Milotic. Rio sat next to Ben, smiling.

"Good call. This is a very good story to all three of us." When he finished saying that, he got up and rushed into the kitchen. After a few minutes, he came back, with a tray, and Milotic came behind him. "Plus Milotic made us poffins!"

He set the tray down as he sat next to Ben. Milotic in turn coiled around Lucario, and laid her head on his lap. "Go on Ben. Try one!" Ben remembered something about how tasty poffins were, but he never actually ate one. He's only been here for some time. But he saw no harm in it. So he took one of the pink ones, and brought it to his face. He looks at the other three for a second, who nodded for him to go on. With a shrug, Ben brought it to his mouth, and took a small bite.

His taste buds skyrocketed at how sweet this poffin was.

In no time at all, he began taking bigger bites out of the small treat, until it was all gone, the only thing left were the sprinkles on his mouth. He turned to Rio, who was calmly eating a sour poffin. Sure his mouth was a little bit tangy, but it was still his favorite.

"I'm guessing you like it?" Rio said while smiling. "Get this, sometimes, when Milotic eats her favorite poffin, which are the spicy ones, she burps flames! It looks like she's using Flamethrower! It's really funny!"

Said Pokémon blushed brightly. "Rio! Come on, don't tell him that! You know that I can't help it! It just...comes out, you know?" Rio noddd, while still snickering.

Lucario picked up a sour poffin and took a bite. That's another thing the brothers have in common, their favorite poffins were the sour ones. "Milotic. Are we going to start now?" He used his other paw to pet her head while she was on his lap, and she sighed with pleasure.

"Sure. Let's start from your view, sweetie."

"Right. Now this was quite some time ago, I was still a young Riolu, and my team was just coming back from a fulfilled request..."

* * *

**_Years ago..._**

Riolu was walking to his house were his teammates, Electrike and Charmander. His mother was waiting for him, he was sure. They knew better than not to check up on her.

Brief description of team members:

Riolu: Leader of Team Mega, has a calm appearance most of the time, can communicate with various Pokemon with aura. Most powerful of the team.

Electrike: Fastest of the team, tracker, mischievous type. Focused. Usually referees rare arguments between the other two.

Charmander: Co-leader, second strongest of the team, not as calm as Riolu was, wants to beat him by turing into his Mega form first. Yet they are still best friends.

"Alright guys, I believe I can walk the rest of the way on my own." Riolu said. The other two turned around as he kept walking. "I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye! Hey Charmander, let's get something to eat! I'm hungry!" Charmander shook his head as he walked with Electrike. "You're always saying that. You need to learn to take a short intermission." "C'mon! You know you're hungry too!"

Riolu heard their new conversation fade as they got farther away from him. He decided to walk away further into the forest. He always liked taking a walk in the woods, it soothes his mind of being stressed from being a leader. Yes, even a calm Pokemon like him can get stressed when it goes that far. But he learns that everyone can get stressed under pressure.

He has a superior use of his aura powers that make him a real prodigy. That didn't mean that hard work was not important. Charmander has taken a habit of challenging Riolu to a friendly duel once in a while. They were tied 5-5. Charmander was a pretty good fighter himself.

Riolu was just about to reach his house. But before he could reach the door, his senses picked up a pang of heavy emotion. He focused more on it, and honed in on which emotion it was.

It was extreme sadness.

He knew that this could not be ignored. He would have to settle for being a little late to help whoever was so sad. So right now, he rushed past his house in a fit of speed. There was a time when his morals just have to come first. His mother can understand that.

So he continued to hop from tree to tree, swing from branches, backflipping over a rock.(Electrike calls him a showoff because of his acrobatic ability.) When his feet reached the ground, the sadness was more apparent. He could see the flow of aura it emitted, and it was leading him right to the pond. Now he was sure somebody was sobbing.

He hopped to the pond's edge, and looked around for the source of the noise. He followed the path of aura to the very back of the pond. He then found who was crying.

It was a small Feebas. Its small fins were covering its small eyes, as tears leaked from them. It also sounded like a female, not too far younger of his own age. He's heard of Feebas, they were very ugly, said to be the shabbiest Pokemon of all, and was widely ignored by most of humans and other Pokemon. They also ate anything they could get their hands on. They also appeared to be quite dumb. With all of these negatives, they were the most ignored Pokemon of all.

But Riolu did not care for that. He was better than that.

So cautiously, he slowly approached the small fish Pokemon, trying to soothe her. "Excuse me? Miss? Are you alright?"

The small fish stopped crying for a bit after hearing the voice. She was scared stiff. "W-W-What do you want? W-Who are you?" She wasn't entirely sure she could trust him, that he could tell just by her voice.

"I'm Riolu, as you can tell. If you don't mind me asking, why are you crying?" Riolu was also known to be very polite. Its how he was raised. "Feebas? Can you tell me?"

She wiped her face a little bit, which wasn't hard, she's already in the water. "Can't you tell? Just look at me! I'm hideous! No one wants to be my friend because of it. They have even bullied me because of it, and just because I wasn't as smart as everyone else. I eventually decided that making friends was not happening with me. So I gave up, resigning myself alone in this little pond."

Riolu drooped his ears. "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't give me that! You have no idea how many times I've heard that being said to me. None of them has ever truly meant it. I've faced the facts, it will never end. Now...just go. I don't want fake pity." With a sad face, Feebas began to swim away from Riolu. But before she go far, she felt a pair of paws grab her by both sides, and was lifted out of the water. She was facing Riolu.

"No! No! Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me! Leave me alone!" She thrashed un his paws, but he was clearly the stronger one. She didn't want to know what he would do. While Riolu was extremely calm, she was panicking.

But that stopped immediately, when he gently pressed her against his chest.

Feebas was shocked to say at the least. She didn't know what this was, due to being alone for so long. She slowly lifted herself to look at Riolu, who looked down to her with calm and caring eyes. "Feel my heart, Feebas. Does it feel like I'd lie to you?"

Not getting it entirely, she pressed her head to his chest, where she heard his heart beating. But she also felt something else. Warmth. Care. Honesty. He was emitting all of that through his heart to prove to her that he can be trusted. Even though she might as well be half his size, he was still holding on tightly to her like he was trying to save her life.

"You...actually want to be my friend?" That was the vibe sh was getting from him.

"There is a harsh truth about living things that my mother tells me once in a while: Not all of them are going to like you. But...that doesn't necessarily mean that no one will be able to. Soon enough, someone will come along. For you, that someone is me."

Feebas was not really knowing what to say next. So instead, she chose to give in to his embrace, allowing him to hug her gently. She couldn't find it within herself to deny something she wanted for so long just because no one else did. And Riolu looked like one who doesn't have a lot of experience with deceiving that way.

After a while, Riolu carefully set her back into the water, anr continued to look at her. "I need to go home now. I promise you that I'll come and see you tomorrow, after i'm off my shift. I will continue to do so as long as you're comfortable." Feebas felt scared for a moment.

"You wouldn't break that promise, would you?"

"Even at my young age, I have a code of honor. I might as well not have one at all if I cannot keep this promise. I will see you tomorrow." Riolu looked at her longer to see if she will be fine on her own. After a while, he finally left her alone. Not knowing what else to do at the moment, she swam to the bottom of the pond, and fell asleep.

_**The next evening...**_

Feebas was patiently waited on one side of the little pond, looking around for Riolu. She remembered the promise he made to her, and wanted to see for herself. He didn't show up for quite a while. She frowned, and swam a little bit backwards into the water.

_I knew it was too good to be true..._

"Feebas? Feebas!"

Her eyes opened, and she quickly turned back. Riolu was running towards the pond, looking like he's ran quite a distance yet still was not tired. Feebas was very excited all of a sudden, and she jumped out of the water in her own, and plopped right into his arms.

"You came! You actually came! You really didn't break your promise!"

"Of course not. I said it before, I might as well not have a code of honor if I can't keep a promise as important as this. I truly am sorry for being late." Riolu hugged her softly as she smiled at him.

"Not at all! I'm just very happy you came anyway!" After a few minutes of silence, they looked at each other again. "So...what are we gonna do? I never even thought about how to spend our time when you came."

"I honestly didn't think about it either." They were stumped. They were both so worried about seeing each other that they didn't think about what to when it they actually meet. It almost made them laugh. No...it did make them laugh.

"Hm...do you wanna...come for a swim? The water isn't too deep." Feebas offered. Riolu nodded with her. "I guess so. It would be a good time to brush up on my swimming skill. Honestly it isn't that bad."

With that idea in mind, Riolu let Feebas back into the water, and he slowly climbed in for himself. Feebas was patiently swimming around him in a complete circular motion, as he was looking at her with his puffed cheeks storing air. She seemed ready to go, as was he.

_That's one of the things I can't do...keeping the freezing water away. It's so cold...but...I have to power through this. Feebas wants to have fun. _

Feebas swam a playful lap around the entire pond, making bubble rings every few moments. When she stopped and gestured to them, Riolu knew that she offered him a challenge. Swim towards them meant that he accepted. After a full minute, he passed through every ring on his first try.

Feebas had to admit he really was a good swimmer. Despite the fact that she could have done that in half his time, he was still decent. He came back up for air, and Feebas came up as well so that they can look each other in the eyes.

"You wanna go again?"

"I would like that."

After a few more hours of playful swimming, it was starting to get dark, and Riolu got out of the pond. Feebas popped up, wearing an honest smile.

"Today was fun! I'm really glad that you came around, Riolu." He smiled back at her.

"It is no trouble, spending time with a friend." After another few moments of quietly staring at each other, Feebas spoke again. "I am so happy that you find me worth your time, Riolu. Are you happy?"

The aura Pokemon nodded. "I've made a new friend, and helped her from the abyss that is loneliness. How can that not make me happy?" He smiled wide as well. But it was cut short when he began to glow. Out of shock, he stood up quickly.

"Riolu! What's happening?!" Feebas said out of fear. Riolu looked at his paws as his entire body turned white.

"I'm...evolving..."

The white figure he was turned into was very bright, and Feebas had to cover her eyes. His arms started to grow longer, with spikes emitting from the top of his paws. Another spike came from his chest, and longer black legs. He was also growing considerably taller.

A few more minutes passed, and the glow began to subside. Feebas was able to see again after those few moments. Riolu...wasn't really himself.

"What happened to you?"

After a brief look over himself, Lucario returned to Feebas. "I've changed. It was time for my evolution. Its when you've grown enough, that you grow so much stronger that you'll transform into something new. If i'm right, I evolved because of a high level of happiness. You had something to do with it Feebas."

She noticed that his voice has gotten deper and a little bit rough. But she felt like he was still himself, just in a different form. "Wow...that's great for you Riolu- I mean...Lucario. And to think I had a helping hand in it!" Her smile was then turned into a wondering look.

"But...do you think that I have that potential? Of evolution, I mean?" Lucario used his slightly larger paws to lift her up, and hugged her again. He just evolved, yet he still didn't know much about evolution. He will just try to find out with her.

"If you helped me out with evolution, I'm sure that you could do the same."

**A few years later...**

A few years have passed. Riolu(present-time Rio) was born in some time when Lucario evolved. He has kept his promise any way he could. He went to see Feebas everyday that he was able to. He also gave her some details about his exploration adventures.

The most interesting she heard that his best friend Charizard has achieved his Mega form first after all, but not without heavy damage being done around them. That's a story to be told another day.

One day...things took a serious turn...

Lucario has said goodbye to his evolved friend Manetric and made his way towards the pond he always goes to. His comrades pretty much figured out that he was seeing someone, and was sometimes teased because of it. Especially by his little brother. But what does he know?

He was still taking a leisurely stroll towards the meeting place. When he managed a few more paces, he stopped in his tracks, and tensed up. The aura in the surrounding area felt...off. Very off...

_Feebas!_

With little time to spare, he used his Extremespeed to navigate quickly through the forest, keeping track on Feebas aura. It was getting considerably weaker, and it was very frightened. She really was in trouble. He focused on it intensely, he was going to find her no matter what.

He finally reaches the pond in record time, to witness Feebas being attacked...by an Aerodactyl. By the looks of it, she was injured...and he was hungry.

"Eh there, little fishie. Aren't you looking delicatable now?"

She looked like she was struggling, but he had her pinned down with his foot. "Gah! Get...off of me you winged reptile! I'm not food for anything or anyone!"

"Don't make me laugh! Look at you! I sincerely doubt that anyone would care about the difference. There is too much hideousness all over you for anyone to ever care. You're basically just a piec of coral. Coral that I can eat." Aerodactyl was moving to bite her, but was blown away by a powerful force.

Lucario has used Extremespeed to speedily smash into his side, and he was made his way over to the injured Feebas. She saw him come, and coughed a little bit. "Lu...cario..." He used Heal Pulse to rid her of her injuries. When she was able to move again, he gently moved her back into the water. Feebas obviously noticed that he replaced his Quick Attack with the more efficient and faster Extremespeed. "You'll be fine now. Just let me take care of this."

Aerodactyl recovered, shook his head, and glared at Lucario. "What the heck man?! That's my lunch!"

"No. That's my friend you're trying to feast on. I can't allow that. Go away and leave us."

"Really?" Aerodactyl hunched down a little, and lowered his wings, ready to fight. "Who's going to make me?"

Lucario did not move from his protective stance over Feebas.

"Fine then." Aerodactyl opened his mouth. "Fire Blast!" He breathed a star of flames and they flew at Lucario, who used Extremespeed to move out of the way. He tried to fire it again, and the latter did as well.

_Shadow Claw! _Lucario rushed his opponent as purple energy emitted out of his oaws, and swiftly slashed at the unprepared Aerodactyl. He was thrown off, but managed to regain his stance.

_Rock throw! _He picked up three rocks with his wings, and threw them, at high soeed. But Lucario's Poison Jab seemed to be able to break all of them in rapid succession withiut so much as blinking once. _Aerial Ace! _He tried his luck by attacking with his own wings, as he headed straight for Lucario at an even higher speed.

_Protect! _He waved his paw, and a shield of green energy surrounded his entire body, as Aerial Ace smashed into it. It was completely canceled out and forced backwards. Aerodactyl balanced himself and looked down at Lucario. _Flamethrower! _Red and yellow flames eminated from his mouth agsin, this time into a straight on blast. Lucario used Extremespeed to completely avoid it.

He decided to take offensive now. _Aura Spere... _He gathered aura and energy into his paws, and held it in a charging position. The orb was made a little larger, and he launched it right at the opponent. Aerodactyl wasn't fast like him, so he was hit by the blast, head-on. With so much damage taken, he almost completely plummented into the ground. But he regained control and let his wings help him land.

Aerodactyl wasn't a complete moron, he knew when he was outmatched. And this Lucario was clearly superior to him. So he chose an alternative way to fight.

"Gotta say, this hasn't gone on for very long, yet you already have me on the ropes. But unlike you...I come prepared for situations like these. With this." He picked around his wings, until he took something out of them, and held it. It was a Mega Stone.

Lucario jumped back. _He can use Mega Evolution?! _

As the Pokemon absorbed his specific stone's power, he was covered in a pinkish red orb for a mere moment. When it bursted, Aerodactyl was brand-new. He had rock spikes almost everywhere on his body, on his wings, head, tail, almost everywhere. He also seemed quite bigger than before.

" Now then...if you don't mind...I'll settle this in only three blows." He said before pausing. _Giga Impact! _he surrounded himself in green energy, and charged at Lucario. He was about to try a counterattack, but the attack already made its mark. The transformation made Aerdactyl even faster.

"Now...my second attack." _Thunder Fang! _He was already close to him, so Lucario took major damage from the lighting afflicted bite. The worst part is that it paralyzed him in the process.

"You can't move now. I can end this right here." Aerodactyl's mouth glowed a white ball of energy, and aimed it at Lucario. _Hyper Beam! _He launched the destructive wave right at him, and the impact exploded and made a lot of smoke. Even though you can't see it at the moment, Lucario eventually collapsed to the gound, weakened.

"Ha! Its all over for you! I win! Now...li'l fishie...where were we?" Aerodactyl went back tk hunting the frightened Feebas around the pond, as Lucario struggled to get up.

_No...I must...defend...Feebas...but...Mega Aerodactyl...too strong...I need...to get up...but my body...too beaten up to move. No...ignore that. Rescue your friend...ignore the pain._

Lucario pushed himself upwards, just to see that Mega Aerdactyl about to kill Feebas. _Get...away from her! _

Lucario forced himself to charge at him, but was knocked back with a powerful Winv Attack. "Stay down. But if you won't do that, then tell me...why go risk your safefy for her? A hunk of nothing?" Lucario stood back up, and stared him down. " i promised her that I'd always be there for her when she needs me. I don't break promises like that."

"Wow! You're such a loser, You PROMISED?" Lucario will not stand for being insulted by Aerodactyl. So for a moment, he charged Mega Aerodactyl with a Power-Up Punch, neither of them knowing that he was energized with Mega energy without a stone of a ring. When the attacked landed, Mega Aerodactly coughed from the sheer unexpected power, and was launched against a huge boulder. When the impact occured, he widened his eyes from the pain, and slowly slid down and out of his Mega Form.

"A simple yes or no would have been better...just saying...ugh..."

With the altercation over and done, he rushes back to Feebas. She was crying her little eyes out. So he went over to comfort her. "Feebas?"

"...he...he's right...I am just a hunk of nothing. I-I mean look at me again Lucario. My skin is crusted, my fins are somewhat torn, I'm not that smart, lot's of things about me are true when it comes to that." She shook her head as the tears continued to flow. "I have no true beauty anywhere...I'm nothing..."

Lucario had to snap her out of her sudden depression, but it seemed deeper than last time. That didn't discourage him at all. "Feebas-"

"Please Lucario. Don't pity me just because your morals said so. It's alright if you just leave me alone. Its like he said, my kind are nothing more than scum scrubbers. I'm better off in isolation..."

"I've heard enough!" Feebas was shocked out of it for a second in order to look at Lucario. He never yelled at her like that before. He never yelled at her period. "I don't want to hear more, Feebas! Forget about the Pokèmon that mistreated you. Right now, you have me and a couple of other friends to spend time with you. You're caring, you're kind, you have some sense of humor. Stop worrying about outer appearances, and look within yourself for your true potential."

Feebas was shocked, but nonetheless was feeling much better about herself. But things still plagued her. "Even if I do that...one thing will never change...I'll never be beautiful..."

Lucario knew now that there was only one way he could make her completely forget about her self-doubt. So he scooped her up from the water, and looked her in the eyes. " Feebas...the only bonds that can rival yours and mine is one with my brother, and one with Charizard. They shall always be especially important to me. You are no exception. There is one thing that I would like to say and do." He took a moment of silence as Feebas took all of this in. He then spoke softly.

"I am your friend, Feebas. Not out of pity, but because I chose to. And that has proven to be one of the best choices of my life. Hear me out: As long as you promise yourself to have confidence, and to be true to who you think you really are...do those for me...if you do...then you'll always be the most beautiful thing in the world in my eyes."

And then there's the thing she did not expect from him: he kissed her. On her chappy fish lips. She was shocked enough that he truthfully said that inner beauty is the thing that truly counts. And was more shocked he decided to prove his words by doing this. She surprisingly felt herself kissing him in return, as he held her frail fish body. But neither cared about outer appearance of Feebas, or who was watching this unfold. They were only focused on each other.

_I never even thought about that...the most important part of beauty...is only on the inside...where the outside expresses those inner qualities...oh Lucario...was that what you were trying to tell me? Because it worked. I know that no matter what, i'm always beautiful to you..._

Because both of their eyes were closed, they didn't notice that Feebas was beginning to glow. They still didn't fully notice the change that was occuring. Feebas was beginning to grow, and her body getting longer and slimmer. Her skin going from crusty, to diamond shaped varying blue, red and black lower body. Her eyebrows were now smooth, as the tops were really thin, while the thicker parts of her fin like hair were longer than her body. A spike also grew on her forehead. The last detail was her tail, instead of hideously torn, it also grew longer, spanning a new tail of blue and pink, resembling a fan.

And her head was still bent down to Lucario's, eyes still closed. She just evolved and neither of them noticed yet because they were caught up in their kissing. Distracted much?

Lucario finally opened his eyes, and they widened the next minute. "Wha?!" The latter broke the kiss, staggering back. "What?! Whats wrong?!" Her voice has also changed to a smooth, graceful one. Not the rough rugged one like her previous form.

"Y-You evolved! You're a Milotic!" She was very confused by this. "I'm a what?" She looked herself in the pond's reflection, and gasped. "Oh my..." She was no longer a fish, more like a nice sea serpent. As she stared at her reflection some more, she eventually got it. "I'm...gorgeous...but how?"

"It must have been me." Milotic turned around, then looked down, remembering she was much bigger than him now. "I heard that a Pokemon CAN evolve into a Milotic, as long as it thinks its beautiful enough for it. Its supposed to be some ironic twist during evolution." Milotic was starting to get it now.

"You changed fom Feebas, the shabbiest Pokemon in the world, to this. Understand...Milotic's are the most beautiful Pokemon of all." She was now totally surprised. She changed from the ugliest to the most beautiful? That IS irony! But she knew what else why.

"It must have been a response. If I want to earn my outer beauty...I had to recognize my inner beauty first. Lucario...you saying that I'm beautiful in your eyes no matter what, and the kiss...that must have been the trigger I needed. I'm not ugly anymore...I no longer need to hide my true self anymore. Now I am free to truly enjoy being around others."

Lucario smiled. He has truly saved his friend. " Great! Now we can show you around Heart Town!" He was about to walk out, when he was swiftly yet gently wrapped in Milotic's new coiled serpent body, as he was forced to look at her. "Milotic? What's the matter?"

Her face was emotionless at first. "You helped me realize my inner beauty, therefore revealing my outer beauty...have been my friend for years...hung out with me whenevr you had the time...and you KISSED me. That has to mean we're soulmates, right?" Lucario was somewhat relaxed. "Yes. I guess we can say that."

Her emotionless face turned into a smile, which turned into a very mischievious smirk. "With my new body...and I know you won't hurt me...you'll realize what I'm about to do now, do you?" Lucario's face turned white. Not for THAT, if its what your thinking. But he knew that he had no chance of freeing himself without hurting her. She gestured her head to a shady pile of bushes. "I think I'll take this chance to enjoy my enhanced leisure time. Beginning with you."

He knew there was no way he was escaping this. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Hmmmmmm...Nah." With that judgement, she dragged him towards the bushes, where they could not be seen. You could hear Lucario laughing his head off, and Milotic and her kissing fenzy as a "thank you" to him. She sounded like she was enjoying herself. So...in the end, everyone won.

Except Mega Aerodactyl, who was later taken to prison...

* * *

**Present time...**

"And there you go. Our meetings, and our seeming confssions. All on how we met and got together. Is your curiosity satisfied, Ben?" Lucario said, as he looked at Ben and Rio.

"Yeah! That was so cool! You unlocked Mega Evolution without a stone! Just on willpower!"

"It was shaky...but I managed it long enough to defeat my opponet using it for the first time. It was worth it. And I also discovered that when she shedded her shy and depressed form, Milotic is a mischievious, hapoy go round girl who likes to be with her friends. It was a great day for her as well."

Rio smiled at Ben. "Yeah! It was a great story when I first heard it too!"

Milotic was smiling softly at the three boys. She sees that keeping up with them will not get easier. But she'll manage. As for right now, she took a spicy poffin, and calmly ate it. No one really knows why those are her favorites.

"Okay! Now that we have that out of the way, we can settle down and go to be-URRRRP!" Unfortunately the poffin came back at her, as she practically belched out a makeshift Flamethrower. When that was over, she hastily covered her mouth with her tail. "Hehehehe...excuse me?"

There was total silence for the moment. "Rio...you were right. It DID look like she was using Flamethrower." Silence. Then, all four of them burst into laughter. It was pretty funny.

A couple hours later, Lucario lied in his bed with Milotic neatly coiled around him.

"Guess you aren't Mr. Perfect isn't so perfect, huh Lucario?" He chuckled at her accusation.

"I was a really good boy, not perfect. That's overated." "True." They lied like thaf for a few more moments, as Milotic lied her head on his chest.

"I love you, Milotic." She still never forgot his words. _You're beautiful in my eyes, no matter what. _She snuggled closer to him.

"Lucario...I love you too..."

* * *

**That's all for this one. See if you like it or dislike it. I won't flame anyone who dislikes it. Buh-bye.**


	6. Short: Ben's Dream

**Sorry this is short. Just letting you know that this has not been forgotten.**

* * *

Something was going on with Ben's mind. He was shuffling around in his sleep, somehow having a somewhat unpleasant dream. No one else seemed to notice, as they were still asleep.

_Ben was seen in a dark room, holding his favorite Pokèmon doll, a Pikachu. He...was human. An innocent brown colored child with nothing but a red shirt and a blue pair of pants. "Thats...me...but.." He looked at his paw, then back at human self. "I'm right here, yet i'm over there...how is that possible?! Am I still dreaming?" _

_After a few more moments of contemplating about what was happening, something opened the door in the room. It looked like another human in a white labcoat. He had no idea who that man was. Nor did he like the fact that he looked at him with a very focused concentration. Why does looking at him make his heart hurt so much?_

_"Ben...its time for another test. Come on." The smaller human whimpered as he held his toy tightly. "I don't want them doing those things to me anymore. Please don't make me go through those things again..." He sounded very uncomfortable when he said this. _

_"I don't like it very much either, my boy. But you know what they'll do if either of us resist. I don't want them hurting you anymore than necessary. Now please...come." Ben looked like he was going to cry. But eventually...he walked towards the door, into the strange lights. After a moment, the door shut itself closed with a SLAM!_

_"HUH?!" _Ben woke up with a jump, causing electricity to strike Rio on accident. "Ouch! Lightning shocks!" Milotic rushed into the room, in nanny mode. "I heard someone shout out in pain. What's the matter? Ben? Rio?" The Pikachu looked down at the ground, trying to fall back asleep. "I...had a strange...but somewhat disturbuing dream. And I have no idea what it means."

Milotic stretched herself long enough to wrap herself around the both of them. "Want to talk about it?" Rio asked. Ben still looked at the ground, but rubbed his head against Milotic's coils to relax himself with her warmth. "No...let's just...go back to sleep." Riolu looked at him, sensing his distress easily. "Are you sure?" Ben forced himself to smile. "Yeah." Milotic gave in, now going for making him comfortable. She coiled around Ben and Rio to make them comfy, and kissed both their foreheads. "If you say so. Now go back to sleep."

They obeyed her without question, and eased themselves to close their eyes. Milotic knew that whatever Ben saw was making him uncomfortable. But she will be patient enough for him to come for help on his own. So with that, she fell asleep too. She was having a lovely..._session _with Lucario as quietly as they could, but wanted to stay and comfort Ben. She could always make up for lost time anyway...


End file.
